Description
The “Futurium” aims to be “an exhibition of stimulating and visionary scenarios, an interactive hands-on laboratory for experimentation, and a forum for interdisciplinary events and dialogue”. The house of the future is financed by the Ministry of Education and Research, by scientific organisations such as the Helmholtz Association and the German Academy of Science and Engineering, as well as by corporations such as Bayer and Siemens.
A competition launched in 2011 asked participants to imagine what the architecture of the future will look like. The winning team from the young architecture office of Richter Musikowski from Berlin wisely elected not to interpret themes such as “innovation” or “forward-looking ideas” in the architecture, as these momentary perspectives age quickly, thus undermining the building’s intention. Instead, the building is a self-contained volume that excels through its interior qualities as a centre for exhibitions and events.
The Futurium lies directly in the heart of the government quarter between the River Spree and the railway station. The architects have divided the building into three parts. The ground floor serves as a foyer and open passage: the south and north ends of the building lift up off the ground, allowing pedestrians to pass beneath it while simultaneously creating up to 18 m deep covered entrance areas on both sides. On entering the building, the eastern part of the five-cornered building contains the main event hall, which is also five-sided and can be subdivided as required using mobile partitions into smaller irregularly-shaped sections. At the centre of the Futurium is an open stair illuminated by a large skylight along with an elevator block that leads visitors to the actual exhibition level above: a vast, continuous space with 3000 m² of exhibition floor beneath variously inclined roof surfaces. While the ground floor is bright and suffused with light, the upper floor is dark and dominated by two vast panoramic windows drawing the visitor into the space.
The sloping ceilings, their facets highlighted by parallel dashed lines of artificial lighting, is a product of the sculptural shape of the building. The architects describe this as an “unfolding butterfly-shape” that is also the motivation behind the way the building lifts off the ground to the north and south. Two glass “communicative bridges” run as elevated passages through the exhibition hall, the foremost of which is also accessible via a sculptural spiral stair. The third part of the building is a further 600 m²-large exhibition area in the basement – the Futurium Lab – that has an entirely different ambience. Designed as a black box laboratory, its walls are dark-coloured concrete with a carefully worked exposed surface finish, and its floor a black screed. The ceiling, on the other hand, is an impressive grid of 126 coffered sections each crowned by a quadratic fluorescent light source.
The angular form of the building resulted in the creation of an inclined “skywalk” on the roof that – in contrast to the usual service gangways – is publicly accessible. This path represents an unexpected culmination of the circuit through the Futurium, and those who take the time to ascend the last, separate staircase are rewarded with a panoramic view of the surroundings and of the impressive array of photovoltaic panels on the roof.
Throughout the building, the architects have invested careful attention to detailing. The suspended ceilings have been paired with cleverly conceived integral lighting, which in the lecture hall acquires a paper-thin, cloud like quality achieved by backlighting a grid of thin perforated white strips. Similarly, the acoustic panels have been patterned and the diagonal grid of the façade, into which the escape doors have been subtly incorporated, throws ever-changing shadows across the floor. Behind the small round glass surfaces of the central elevator block, which is also the building’s energy store, one can see illuminated paraffin, used to cool the building. Externally, the sculptural form is highlighted by the smooth surface of the panoramic windows and the glistening textured panels of the scale-like skin of the building. Comprised of 8000, 1×1 m panels made of variously folded stainless steel or fritted cast glass, the building skin reflects the light in myriad patterns according to the time of day and year.
The two 28-metre-wide panorama windows that overlook the Federal Chancellery on one side and the Charité hospital on the other were especially challenging to construct. Unlike typical situations were a window of this size rests on the ground and is held by vertical posts to resist wind loads, these windows float above ground and are “hung” from above. Above each opening, a two-metre-high steel box girder spans between the cantilevered concrete side walls. Slender steel lamellae attached to the girder support the entire glass surface right down to the leading edge of the cantilevered floor beneath. The principle of gravity helps to hold the entire structure taut, enabling it to withstand high wind loads despite its delicate appearance.
Drawings
Floor plans
Photos
Exterior view
Interior view